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by __insert creative pen name here__ (seannasheep)



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Friendship, Gen, James/Petunia friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-21
Updated: 2017-08-21
Packaged: 2018-12-18 02:05:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,200
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11864388
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/seannasheep/pseuds/__insert%20creative%20pen%20name%20here__
Summary: When Petunia and Vernon get a divorce, she stays with the Potter's for a while. James, who's always wanted to be spoilt, and Petunia, who has no one left to spoil, form a friendship despite their age difference.Sorry, I can't really describe it any better without giving away the whole story.





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**Author's Note:**

  * In response to a prompt by [tamlane](https://archiveofourown.org/users/tamlane/pseuds/tamlane) in the [NextGen_Summer_Heat](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/NextGen_Summer_Heat) collection. 



> **Prompt:**
> 
>  
> 
> James always wanted to be spoiled. He meets Petunia at a time when she finds herself with no one left to spoil.
> 
> I'd love some cross-gen erotica for this, but gen is fine, too. All kinks welcome.

James Sirius Potter was sick of his name. Because of it, he was never allowed to be just him. No, he had so much to live up to. Not only was he the son of Harry Potter, The Chosen One, Saviour of the Wizarding World, he was also named after half of the Marauders – James, his grandfather, and Sirius, his grandfather’s best friend and father’s godfather. That was a lot of pressure to put on a boy.

James wanted nothing more to be loved for who he was, not for who his family was. He wanted to have all of someone’s attention, not have to share it with his siblings and all the Weasley cousins – seriously, why were there so many of them? He wanted to be spoilt. No one had ever spoilt him before. Or, he supposes his parents did before Albus was born, but he couldn’t remember that.

He’d heard his Dad talk about the way his Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon had spoilt his cousin Dudley when they were growing up. He wanted that. To be spoilt like that would be a dream come true for James. But that was never going to happen.

The five of them were sitting around the breakfast table one morning, eating their breakfast, when the muggle postman delivered the letters. Harry rose from his seat and collected the letters.

“Bill. Bill. Junk mail. Bill.” He mumbled to himself as he flipped through the envelopes, then he stopped on one. “Oh, a letter from Aunt Petunia.”

He sat back down in his seat and opened the letter. Everyone watched him closely as he read through what had been written, trying to gauge whether it was good or bad news.

“Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon are getting a divorce.” He spoke after having finished reading. “She’s wondering if she could stay here until she finds somewhere else to go. Is that okay with you, dear?”

“What about your cousin?” Ginny asked, she wasn’t the biggest fan of the Dursley’s. “Shouldn’t he take her in? He is her son, after all.”

“Remember, he moved to Australia last year.” Harry said. “She doesn’t want to leave England.”

“Well, where will she stay?” Ginny asked. “We haven’t got a spare room.”

“James, would you mind sleeping in Albus’ room while your great aunt is here?” Harry asked his son.

James hated the fact that it was him who had to give up his spare room. Sharing a room with his brother was the exact opposite of what he wanted. Why couldn’t Petunia share with Lily? But, he couldn’t say that. No, he had to be the perfect son and do exactly what his father said. That’s what was expected of him, after all.

“Sure.” He says, giving his father his best ‘good boy’ smile. “No problem at all. Is there, Albus?”

“Nope.” Albus mumbled, not seeming half as convincing as James had, but no one really cared.

“Great.” Harry said. “So, it’s settled then.”

“Whatever.” Ginny said and left the room.

Harry didn’t seem to notice his wife’s annoyance. Or, if he did, he just didn’t care. Instead of doing anything about it, he summoned a pen and piece of paper – wizards don’t have to use quill and parchment, it’s the twenty-first century after all – and wrote a reply to his aunt.

Once done, he put his fingers between his lips and made a whistling sound. A moment later, the family owl, Feathers, came flying into the room. He tied the note around her leg and told her to deliver it to his aunt. The owl flew off, out the window, and Harry returned to his breakfast.

When Petunia arrived the next day, her car was packed full of possessions. Harry had magically expanded the garage so that there was space in there for her to park her car as well. She left most of her possessions locked in the car, only bringing a single suitcase inside with her.

“Thank you for letting me stay.” She said to Harry and Ginny as they sat around the table drinking tea. “I couldn’t think of anywhere else to go.”

“You’re always welcome here.” Harry said.

Ginny grunted. She was still annoyed that Harry had let Petunia come stay without her having agreed to it.

It didn’t take long, however, for Ginny to realise that having Petunia there wasn’t such a bad thing, after all.

You see, Petunia loved fussing over people. Her whole life had always revolved around cooking and cleaning. And, despite being the guest, she wasn’t willing to give that up in the Potter home. Ginny hated cooking and cleaning, even with being able to use magic. So, this woman coming into her home and doing all that for her – the muggle way – was like a gift from the heavens.

James woke up one morning long after everyone else. He’d been up late the night before, unable to get to sleep because of Albus’ snores. A quick glance at the clock told him it was after ten. He stretched and made his way into the main part of the house.

Petunia was sitting on one of the armchairs in the living room, reading a muggle new paper, but no one else was anyone to be seen.

“Where’s everyone?” He asked his great aunt.

“You’re Dad’s at work. You’re Mum’s gone to see some game she wants to report on. Albus and Lily didn’t really say where they were going. Somewhere with friends, I imagine.” Petunia said, looking up from her newspaper. “It’s just you and me today. Would you like some breakfast.”

“I’ll just grab myself some cereal.”

“Nonsense.” Petunia folded up the newspaper and rose from her seat. “Cereal isn’t enough for a growing boy. I’ll cook you something. Take a seat.”

James sat down at the table and watched as his great aunt started to pull ingredients from the pantry and fridge, and utensils from cupboards and drawers. She’d only been in the house a few days and she already knew where everything was. James was quite impressed – he wouldn’t know where to find an eggflip if his life depended on it.

In no time, a plate piled high with bacon, eggs, fried tomato, baked beans and toast was being placed in front of him. There was so much food, surly it wasn’t all for him.

“Are you having some too?” He asked his great aunt.

“Oh, no, dear.” She said, taking a seat at the table. “It’s all for you. Now eat up.”

“I’ve never eaten this much at one time.” He said, picking up his fork. “I’m not sure I’ll be able to.”

“Well, you’re much too skinny.” Petunia said. “Nothing but skin and bones. A boy needs a little meat on his bones, if you ask me. I never would’ve let my Dudley get that scrawny.”

James ate as much as he could and once he finished, what was left was fed to the dog. When he went to wash the dishes, Petunia shooed him away.

“Go. I’ll do this.” She said, filling the sink with soapy water. “It’s Summer. You should be out enjoying the sunshine, not cooped up in doors.”

“We could both be out enjoying the sunshine.” James said.

“No. This has to be done.”

“You seem to be forgetting I’m a wizard.” James chuckled as he pulled his wand out of his pocket.

“You can’t do magic outside of school though. Can you?”

“I’m seventeen now.” James said. “I can. So, step back.”

Petunia took a step back and, with a flick of his wand, James had the dishes cleaning themselves. Petunia looked slightly terrified for a moment, still not entirely comfortable with magic, then she smiled.

“Well, looks like you have that handled.” She said.

“Yep.” James slid the wand back into his pocket. “They’ll put themselves away when they’re done. Now, how about a walk?”

They fetched their hats and the two headed outside for a walk. They walked through to the orchard the Potter’s owned. There, Petunia picked plenty of fruit.

“I’ll make some lovely jams.” She explained. “And pavlova. And an apple pie. How would you like that?”

“That sounds lovely.” James said.

And Petunia made everything she said she was going to, plus more.

Everyone got a generous helping when Petunia cooked, but James couldn’t help but notice that she gave him slightly more than everyone else. She was spoiling him, just like he’d always hoped to be.

Day after day, Petunia would cook James a large helping of breakfast before the two would go out for a walk. By the end of the first week, they’d walked through the entire Potter Estate. Petunia was quite impressed. Seeing what he nephew had made of himself made her feel bad for keeping him under the stairs. Although, that had mostly been Vernon’s decision. He despised of the boy. Petunia simply did as he wished.

When there was nowhere else to walk to in the estate, they walked to the small muggle town nearby. They spent the day window shopping, trying on funny outfits in the second-shop. James couldn’t remember the last time he’d had that much fun. And to think, it wasn’t with one of the Hogwarts boys his age, but with his sixty-two-year-old muggle great aunt. It was funny how things turned out.

One night at dinner, Petunia said the words James had been dreading.

“I’ve found a place to live.” She said.

“Oh, really?” Harry asked. “Where?”

“An apartment in London.” Petunia answered.

Harry was glad his aunt had found somewhere to live, was getting back on her own two feet. Ginny had mixed feeling; she wasn’t Petunia’s biggest fan, but she’d enjoyed having someone else do the cooking and cleaning. Albus was elated, he was going to have his own room again, not have to share with his brother. James was disappointed. In the time she’d been with them, Petunia had become his best friend. She spoilt him the way he’d always wanted to be spoilt, made him feel special for being himself. And now, she was moving all the way to London. Life was so unfair.

The next day, Petunia packed up her things and left. James was instantly filled with a feeling of sadness and loneliness. Lying in his bed that night, he wished he was still sleeping in Albus’ room – even if his brother snored – because that’d mean that Petunia was still there, that there was still someone to spoil him and treat him like he was special.

The days past, James went back to eating normal sized helpings of food, not the large ones Petunia always gave him. Although, that probably wasn’t such a bad thing. He was no longer going for daily walks, instead he was spending his days locked away in his bedroom. If he were still eating the way he had been while Petunia was there, he’d be fat – just like Dudley had been while living under his mother’s roof.

The rest of the Summer past without anything much happening. Before long, it was only a week until school started back.

The post came through the slot as he made his way down stairs for breakfast. He walked across and picked it up. Everything was addressed to either his Mum or Dad – most of them probably bills – except for one, which was addressed to him. A quick glance at the return address told him that it was from Petunia.

He placed the other letters on the table and made his way up to his room, not wanting to share Aunt Petunia with anyone else. He opened the envelope and read the letter enclosed.

_Dear James,_

_I’ve settled into my new apartment in London and I don’t think I’ve felt so lonely since Lily (my sister, not yours) started Hogwarts. For years I’ve always had someone there to spoil – first Vernon, then Dudley and for a week or so, you. And I miss it. It may sound odd, but I love fussing over people. It makes me feel like I’m actually doing something important._

_The reason why I’m writing is because I’d like to invite you to come stay with me until school starts again. That is, if your parents are okay with it. I would like nothing more than to feel useful again._

_Love,_

_Aunt Petunia_

James rushed down stairs to ask his parents if he could go stay with his great aunt. After reading over the letter, Harry agreed. He knew his aunt wanted nothing more than to take care of someone, and he had noticed how much happier James had been while Petunia was staying with them.

James packed a bag of clothes and toiletries and went into the loungeroom. His parents had agreed to take his trunk of school supplies to King’s Cross when they would meet up again before he left for Hogwarts.

  He stepped into the fireplace and flooed to The Leaky Cauldron. From there, he walked to his Aunt’s house.

When the door opened, she pulled him into a tight hug.

And, for the first time in his life, James felt like he was where he belonged.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you liked it. Comment what you thought.


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